Double wrapping die mechanism for cigar wrapping machines



Oct. 14, 1952 w. J. GILES 00mm WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16. 1948 BY zw an LN W. J. GILES DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES Oct. 14, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 16, 1948 Oct. 14, 1952 w. J. GILES 2,613,674

DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Sept. 16, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 L I BY fa /mf 1952 w. .1. GILES 13,674

DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM 7 FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES I Filed Sept. 16. 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 14, 1952 w. J. GILES 2,613,674

DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Sept. 16, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 14, 1952 w. J. GILES DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 16. 1948 W. J. GILES DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES Oct. 14, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Sept. 16, 1948 i kw Oct. 14, 1952 w. J. GILES DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MECHANISM FOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Sept. 16, 1948 Patented Oct. 14, 1952 DOUBLE WRAPPING DIE MEOHANISMFOR CIGAR WRAPPING MACHINES William J. Giles, Belleville, N. J., assignor to Tobacco Machine Supply Company, Inc., Linden, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 16, 19.48, Serial No. 49,503

1 This invention relates in general to cigar wrapping machines wherein a bunch carrier conveys a bunch "of tobacco from a bunch conveyor to a leaf or wrapper die at -a wrapping station and moves the bunch laterally over the wrapper while simultaneously rotating the bunch to wind or roll the wrapper thereon. a I

According to one known practice in the operation of such machines, each Wrapper'leaf must be stretched by' h'a'nd on a wrapping and cutting die and rollers are rolled over the die to cut out the leaf :to form a wrapper, for example as is shown and described in my patent, 'No. 2,601,856 issued July 1,1952. A"leaf must be laid on the die andcu t and thereafter wrapped before a second leaf canbe placed in position on the die, so that considerable of the operators time lost during the cutting and wrapping operations. It has been proposed to utilize two wrapper dies for use with cigar Wrapping machines, but in these known mechanisms the two dies are mounted fixedly on a turret which is rotatable about a vertical axis so as to move the die in a circular path about said axis from a leaf applying s'tat'ion to a position where the wrapper is lifted from the die by a wrapper carrier to a wrapping-station, and the wrapper die is presented to the operator at the leaf applying station in a position which is reverse of the position of the die when it is beneath the wrapper carrier; in other words the strip-edge of the leaf, that is, the edge formed by stripping of the from the tobacco-leaf is disposed on the die toward the operator when the die is at the applying station but away from the operator when the die is presented to the wrapper carrier. 'd'oi-zble wrapper dies are not suitable for machi-neswherein the wrapper is rolled directly on the bunch from the die by the wrapping mechanism, for example asshown in my aforesaid Patent No. 2,601,856, issued July 1, 1952, because in such machines the strip-edge of the leaf should be disposedtoward the operator at both the leaf applying and the wrapping stations Therefore, my invention relates particularly to a double wrapper diemechanism fora wrapping machine of the type wherein the wrapper is automatically rolled from the die and wrapped simultaneously on a tobacco bunch.

A prime object is to provide a double wrapper venient position for application of the leaf to 8 Claims. (01. 131--102 the die and the die shall "also be presented in proper relation to the wrapping mechanism for the wrapping operation.

A further objectis to provide a double wrapper die mechanism of this character wherein the dies shall 'be mounted on a turntable that is rotatable about a vertical axis for moving the dies in succession from the leaf applying station to the wrapping station, and the dies shall also be revolvable about vertical axes relative to the turntable, so that the angular relation of the dies to a given axial plane of the turntable shall not vary substantially during the rotation of the turntable.

A still further object is to provide a, double wrapper die mechanism of the specific type described which shall include novel "and improved means for connecting and disconnecting the wrapper dies to and from a suction producing means for holding the leaf by suction on the die during the cutting operation and for releasing the leaf from the die "for the wrapping operation, respectively.

Other objects, advantages and results of the invention will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a schematic top plan view of a cigar wrapping machine including a double wrapper die mechanism embodying my invenlon;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the machine approximately from the plane of the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinalvertic'al sectional view approximately on the plane of the line ,3-3 ofFigure :1;

Figure 4 is a similar view approximately on the plane of the line 4-4 of Figure '1 with the upper portions of the machine omitted;

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 are horizontal sectional views approximately on the planes of the lines 5-5, it-5, l- 'l, and 8-8 respectively of Fig ure 2; I

Figure 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of the line 9-4 of Figure 1 showing the wrapper dies in one position and with theupper portions-of the machine omitted;

Figure 10Vis a transverse vertical sectional view similar to Figure 9 but taken with the wrapper dies in approximately the position shown in Fig ure 1.

Figure 11' is a composite side elevational and I sectional view approximately on the plane of the line H---! l of Figure 9;

a I i 3 Figure 12 is a similar view approximately on the plane of the line |2-|2 of Figure 9;

Figure 13 is a vertical sectional view throu one of the wrapper dies approximately on the plane of the line |3-|3 of Figure 1;

Figure 14 is a horizontal sectional View approximately on the plane of the line |4|4 of Figure 2;

Figure 15 is a similar view approximately on the plane of the line ||5 of Figure 2;

Figures 16 to 21 inclusiveare schematic plan views of the wrapper dies and "their actuating mechanism, showing the parts in different successive positions during the leaf applying, leaf cutting and wrapping operationsi' Specifically describing the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the machine comprises a main frame A which includes parallel guide rails on which is mounted for linear movement the carriage B of a cigar rolling mechanism which may. be identical with that illustrated and described in my aforesaid co-pending application, Serial No. 151,031. On the carriage B is mounted abunch carrier C (Figure for rotation about a vertical axis D, whereby a tobacco bunch 2 can be inserted into the carrier from a bunch conveyor E and said bunch may then be moved by linear movement of the carriage B to a wrapping station generally designated Y and above a wrapper die F ofwhich there are two each of which is moved in succession from a leaf applying station X to the wrapping station Y to hold a wrapper G in position to be rolled onto a bunch, as shown in Figures 16 to 20 inclusive.

While the die is at the wrapping station, the carrier C is rotated about its vertical axis and the bunch is simultaneously rotated by and in the carrier while the carrier is being so rotated, as shown in Figures 20 and 21, and during the return linear movement of the rolling mechanism to its initial or loading position above the bunch conveyor E, which is the position shown of against a knife blade on the die by the rollers J of a leaf pressing mechanism K (see Figures 16 to 19 inclusive) to form the wrapper G for the bunch which has a, curved. tuck end 3 and a sharply hook-shaped head end 4, the leaf and wrapper being held on the die by suction applied thereto through a conduit L from a suitable source. During the cigar wrapping operation, the wrapper is elevated in the die into juxtaposition to the bunch in the bunch carrier C when the latter is disposed above the die as shown in Figure 20; and thetuck end of the wrapper is snugly pressed against the tuck'end of the-bunch bya tucking needle like that shown in my'aforesaid patent so that during continued rotation of the bunch in the carrier and simultaneous -movement of the carrier over the die, the Wrapper will be wound upon the bunch. When the head end of the bunch reaches the head end 4 of the wrapper, commonly called the flag, a jet of compressed air forces the flag upwardly from the die to insure against tearing of the flag as it is pulled from the die by the bunch carrier. After the rolling operation the wrapped cigar is automatically discharged from the carrier as the latter moves to its loading position.

The cigar rolling mechanism per se forms no part of the present invention and is fully described in my aforesaid patent, but enough there of has been illustrated in the drawings of the present application to make clear the relationship. and cooperation of the double wrapper die mechanism with the cigar-rolling mechanism.

Now more specifically describing the invention, the two wrapper dies F are identical and each comprisesan approximately hollow cylindrical base -5 and a top plate 6 which has an opening I through which is vertically slidable a die lift 8, the top of which comprises a perforated plate 9 that serves as a support for the cigar wrapper G. The die lift is mounted in a supplemental frame In within the base 5 to which is rigidly connected a guide tube II for a lift stud |2 which is rigidly connected by a screw |3 to the plate 9 and has a roller M at its lower end-to cooperate with a lift rod H; which is properly disposed at the wrapping station so as to overlie the roller l4 of each die when the die reaches the wrapping station. The lift rod |5 has a foot plate |6 (Figures 2 and 11) which rides upon a roller mounted on a lever l8 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a stud shaft l9 which is journaled on the .frame A, the other end of said lever having a follower roller 20 which follows a cam 2| mounted on the main drive shaft 22 of the machine which is also journaled on the frame A. The drive shaft 22 may be driven in any suitable manner as bychain and sprocket gearing 23 from the output shaft 24 of a speed reducing gearing 25, the input shaft 26 of which is connected by a suitable clutch 21 to a power shaft 28 which is driven through a belt and pulley gearing 29 by an electric motor 30. A suitable clutch operating lever 3| (Figure 4) that may be connected by a pull link 3|a to a suitable hand lever (not shown) may be provided for starting and stopping the drive shaft 22. At this point, it might be mentionedthat the drive shaft 22 also has cams with which are associated suitable leverage and linkage for actuating the cigar rolling mechanism.

The cam 2| is so shaped and rotated in such timed relation to the other parts of the machine that when each die is moved. to the wrapping station with the wrapper on the plate 9, the cam actuates the-lever |8 to raisethe lift rod I5 and the lift stud l2 so as to elevate the die lift from the normal position shown by solid lines in Figum 13 to the position shown in dot and dash lines from which the leaf or wrapper is rolled onto the bunch by the cigar rolling mechanism; and after the rolling operation, the cam 2| will permit the lift rod IE to fall, whereupon the die lift will drop backinto its normal position. Desirably a compression spring 3| is provided for ensuring rapid and positive return of the die lift, said spring also serving to hold the follower roll 20 in engagement with the cam 2|.

The bases 5 of the wrapper dies are mounted to rotate about vertical axes on a turntable 32 that is in turn rotatable about a vertical axis on the frame A, whereby the wrapper dies may be moved successively from the leaf applying station to the wrapping station. As shown, the turntable 32 is approximately circular and has a coaxial tubular shaft '33 that is mounted :in'a bearing 34 on a part of :the frame A (seeFigures 'Zand 10) This turntable is rotated about its axis in steps of about 90 each, and as shown the shaft 33 has a gear 36 at its lower end which meshes with a larger gear '37 that is journaled on a stud shaft 38 mounted in the .frame A. The gear 31 is rigidly connected to a plate 39 also coaxially rotatable on the shaft 38 and having four radial grooves 40 that are spaced 90 apart and open through the lower face and the periphery of the disk. Cooperating with said disk is a driving element M which is journaled on a vertical shaft 42 and has an arm 4-3 on which isjournaled a roller 44 which is adapted to cooperate successively with the grooves 40 to rotate the disk'int'ermittently in steps of 90 each. For holding the disk momentarily stationary at the end of each step of movement, the driving element 4! has an upwardly facing arcuate groove 45 to receive rollers 46 journaled on and projecting downwardly from the lower face of the disk 39. between the grooves 48.

The shaft 42 is shown as driven through bevel gearing 41 (Figure 3,) from a second output shaft d8 of the speedreducing gearing 25.

'In operation of this driving mechanism for the turntable, the drive element 4| is continuously rotated and at regular intervals the roller 44 enters one of the grooves 40, swings the disk through an angle of 90 and leaves said groove, and two of the rollers 46 are engaged by the walls of the groove 45, as shown in Figure 8, whereby the disk 39, gear .31, and turntable are held stationary.

In this way, the wrapper dies-are moved step by step from the leaf applying station X to the wrapping station 'Y. In accordance with the invention, this movement is in timed relation to the movement of the bunch carrier C of the cigar rolling mechanism, and the wrapper die will remain in the wrapping position a sufiicient time to permit the bunch carrier C to move from its normal position shown in Figure 1 to the dot and dash position shown inFigure 20, thence through the rolling operation and then back to the normal position.

It is another important feature of the invention that the wrapper die shall be so positioned at the leaf applying station that the operator can easily and quickly apply a tobacco leaf to the plate 9 with the strip-edge of the leaf toward the operator, and that the wrapper die shall maintain this same relation throughout its movement to and at the wrapping .station,.-so that at the Wrapping station the wrapper will be disposed with the proper end presented to the wrapping mechanism. 'Io accomplish this purpose, a gear 49 is secured to the bottom of the base 5 of each wrapper die (see Figures '6, l0, and .11) and meshes with a gear 553 on a stud shaft 51 that is journaled within the tubular shaft 33 .(see Figures 10 and 11) and has a pinion 52 at its lower end that meshes with a gear 53 secured on the disk 39 coaxially therewith. The 'gears 49 are journaled on roller bearings including rollers 54 and tubular bearing bushings 55 that are secured in openings in the turntable 32, and the bases of the wrapper dies are supported for .rotation on rollers 55=which are mounted on the turntable. With this arrangement, it will be seen that with the wrapper dies in their normal position as shown in Figures 1 and .16, during operation 'of the machine the dies will be intermittently moved bythe driving mechanism 41-46, and at the same time the turntable will rotate relatively to the dies, .or vice versa, so

that theangular relation of the dies to'any axial plane of the turntable will not change substantially during a complete revolution of the turntable. In other words, the strip edge of the leaf that is disposed toward the operator at the leaf applying station will also be disposed toward the operator at the wrapping station.

At this point, we might also point out that at the wrapping station before the bunch carrier.C reaches the Wrapper die, the rollers J of the leaf cutting mechanism are passed over the knife edges '51 of the die lift in known manner so as'to cut away the outer portions of the leaf and form the wrapper G of the same configuration as the knife edges. This is schematically illustrated in Figures 18 and 19. H

While the leaf is being cut on one die, the operator may be applyinga new leaf H to the die which is at the leaf applying station as shown in Figure 19. v

"As hereinbefore stated, the leaf is held on the I die by suction, .and as shown the suction pipe L has two branches 58 and 59 to cooperate with the dies at the leaf applying and the wrapping sta tions respectively. The branches 58 and 59 open into the respective suction boxes 69 and 61 which are separated by a partition 62 and are closed at their upper ends by the turntable 32. Each gear 49 has a circular row of small holes that open into the hollow base '5 of the wrapper .die and are adapted to register with a similar row of holes (iii in the turntable 32. These rows of openings are concentric with the gears and are so arranged thatatleast some of the openings in each gear will at least partiallyregister with some of the openings in the turntable continuously during rotation of the gears. The suction boxes 60 and 6! are so arranged that when the turntable is in the position to locate one wrapper die at the leaf applying station and the other wrapper die at the Wrapping station, all of the holes 63,. and 5 3 as well as the openings through the bearing bushings 55 are in communication with the suction boxes 65! and M respectively, as best shown in Figures 6, '7 and 14. It is also desirable that some suction be applied to the wrapper dies even while they are moving between the leaf applying station and the wrapping station. This has been accomplished by arranging the circular rows of holes 63 and 64 so that at least some of the holes communicate with the suction box 60 at all times. Figure 10 shows one wrapper die at a position between the leaf applying station and the wrapping station and also illustrates the communication between the suction box 60 and the interior of the wrapper die through the holes 63 and 5d. Closure plates ill are mounted on the frame A beneath the turntable so that the latter may frictionally slide over the closure plates to close the holes 53 that are not in communication with the suction chamber 50. thereby to insure suction in the wrapper dies to hold wrappers thereon at the applying station and from the applying station to the wrapping station.

The suction is applied continuously to the wrapper die at the leaf applying station, but must be momentarily cut off at the wrapping station while the wrapper is being pulled away from the die by the cigar rolling mechanism. As shown I utilize a slide valve 66 (Figures 12 and 15) in the branch '58 of the suction pipe L and operated by a bell crank 87 which is pivoted at '68 on the base of the machine and is actuated by a cam 69 which is mounted on the output shaft 43 of the speed reducing mechanism 25 (Figures 2, 12 and 15-). A

spring H actuates the valve66 in one direction and causes the bell crank to roirow the cam 69.

It is also desirable to provide means for positively forcing the flag end ofthe wrapper from the die plate 9 to prevent tearing thereof during the rolling operation, and for this purpose I provide a jet pipe 12 (Figure 13) in each wrapper die base which rojects upwardly through the die lift 8 to a point closely beneath the end of the plate 9 that corresponds to the flag end of the wrapper. This pipe extends through the bottom of the base 5 and has a sliding contact with the end of a nipple 13 that is secured in the turntable 32 and projects from the upper side thereof into frictional contact with the bottom surface of the wrapper die base, as best shown in Figure 13, so that when the wrapper die is in the wrapping position, the jet pipe 12 will register with and contact the end of the nipple 13. The other end of the nipple is approximately flush with, and an air supply pipe 14 frictionally engages, the bottom surface of the turntable 32 so that when the wrapper die'is in the wrapping position the nipple 13 will engage and register with the end of the air supply pipe 14. The pipe 14 is connected to a suitable air pump 15 (Figure 3) which comprises a piston and cylinder device, the piston rod 16 of which is connected to a cam lever H which normally follows a cam 18 under the influence of a spring 19. The cam is continuously driven by a motor 80 through chain and sprocket gearing 8 I. The cam is so shaped that the piston is slowly moved outwardly of its cylinder and then is suddenly released under the influence of the spring 19 so that the piston is quickly pushed in the opposite direction in the cylinder to compress the air in the cylinder with a snap action and force a jet of air through the jet tube 12 and the die plate 9, thereby to blow the flag end of the wrapper away from the die plate.

Generally describing the operation of the machine, the operator will stand adjacent the leaf applying station X and manually lay a tobacco leaf on the die plate of the wrapper die disposed at said station with its strip edge toward the operator, and the suction from the pipe L will draw and hold the leaf on the die. Then automatically the turntable will be rotated to move the wrapper die and the leaf thereon from the position shown in Figure 16 through the position shown in Figure 17 to the wrapping station shown in Figure 18 but the wrapper die will not rotate about its own axis and consequently the strip edge of the leaf continues in the same relation to the operator and is properly related to the bunch carrier. The valve 66 will at that time be opened and the suction will hold the leaf on the die while the pressing rollers J of the cutting mechanism K are rolled over the leaf to press it against the knife edges 51 and form the wrapper G as shown in Figures 18 and 19. Thereupon the bunch carrier C of the cigar rolling mechanism will be moved into the broken line position of Figure 20 and then across the die to the solid line position so as to roll the wrapper from the die onto the tobacco bunch. Just as the bunch reaches the die, the valve 66 will be closed to cut off. the suction from the leaf and the pump 15 will be operated to force a jet of air through the jet tube 72 beneath the flag end of the wrapper to release the same from the die. Then the bunch carrier continues its return movement as shown in Figure 21. During the leaf cutting and wrapper rolling operations, the operator will be placing a new leaf H onto the die at the leaf applying station as shown in Figure 19, whereupon the operations above described will be repeated.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that many modifications and changes can be made in the details of construction of the double wrapper die mechanism and that said mechanism may be used with other types of cigar rolling mechanisms, all within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a cigar machine, the combination of a plurality of wrapper dies, a turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, means mountin said wrapper dies on vertical axes on said turntable for relative rotation of said turntable and said wrapper dies, means for rotating said turntable stepby-step to move said wrapper dies from a leafapplying station to a wrapping station, and means for maintaining said wrapper dies in the same angular relation to an axial plane of said turntable during rotation of said turntable.

2. In a cigar machine as defined in claim 1, the last named means comprising gears journaled on said turntable and each connected coaxially to one of said wrapper dies, a fixed support and a pinion journaled on said fixed support and meshin with all of said gears, and means for rotating said pinion intermittently in timed relation to the rotation of said turntable.

3. In a cigar machine as defined in claim 2, each of said gears having a circular concentric row of holes and said turntable having a similar row of holes for each gear whereby at least portions of some of said holes in said gears will register with at least portions of the corresponding rows of holes in said turntable during rotation of said turntable, and with the addition of suction boxes beneath said turntable with which said holes communicate thereby to apply suction to said wrapper dies.

4. In a cigar machine, a plurality of wrapper dies each having a perforate leaf-supporting plate and a suction chamber therebeneath, a turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, means mounting said wrapper dies on said turntable for relative rotation of the turntable and said wrapper dies, said means comprising a coaxial tubular bearing bushing rotatably connecting each wrapper die to said turntable and opening at opposite ends into said suction chamber of the corresponding wrapper die and through said turntable respectively, and a suction box over which said bushings are movable upon rotation of said turntable, whereby suction can be applied from said suction box through said tubular bushings and said suction chambers to said leaf-supporting plates.

5. In a cigar machine, a plurality of wrapper dies each having a perforate leaf-supporting plate and a suction chamber therebeneath, a turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, means mounting said wrapper dies on said turntable for relative rotation of the turntable and said wrapper dies, said means comprising a coaxial tubular bearing bushing rotatably connecting each wrapper die to said turntable and opening at opposite ends into said suction chamber of the corresponding wrapper die and through said turntable respectively, means rotatin said turn table intermittently to move said wrapper dies from a leaf applying station to a wrapping sta tion, a suction box at each of said leaf-applying and wrapping stations over which said bushings are movable upon rotation of said turntable, whereby suction can be applied from said suction box through said tubular bushings and said suction chambers to said leaf-supporting plates, and means for momentarily cutting off the suction from said suction box at the wrapping station.

6. In a cigar machine, a plurality of wrapper.

dies each having a perforate leaf-supporting plate and a suction chamber therebeneath, a turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, means mounting said wrapper dies on said turntable for relative rotation of the turntable and said wrapper dies, said means comprising a coaxial tubular bearing bushing rotatably connecting each wrapper die to said tum-table and opening at opposite ends into said suction chamber of the corresponding wrapper die and through said turntable respectively, and a suction box over which said bushings are rotatable upon rotation of said turntable, whereby suction can be applied from said suction box through said tubular bushings and said suction chambers to said leaf-supporting plates, means to intermittently rotate said turntable to move said wrapper dies from a leaf-applying station to a wrapping station, said leafsupporting plate being vertically movable, a lift rod to extend vertically through said tubular bushing of the wrapper die at said wrapping station and normally disposed below said turntable, and means operable in timed relation to the rotation of said turntable to push said lift rod upwardly through said tubular bushing to momentarily raise each leaf-supporting plate while it is located at the wrapping station.

7. In a cigar machine, a plurality of wrapper dies, each having a perforate leaf-supporting plate and a suction chamber therebeneath, a turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, means mounting said wrapper dies on said turntable for relative rotation of the turntable and said wrapper dies, said means comprising a coaxial tubular bearing bushing rotatably connecting each wrapper die to said turntable and opening at opposite ends into said suction chamber of the corresponding wrapper die and through said turntable respectively, and a suction box having an open top normally closed by said turntable and over which said turntable slides to move said bushings into communication with said suction boxes at certain points in the rotation of said turntable.

8. In a cigar machine, the combination of a plurality of wrapper dies, a turntable rotatable about a vertical axis, means mounting said wrapper dies on said turntable, a pinion coaxially connected to said turntable, a stationary support, a shaft journaled in said support, a gear on said shaft and meshing with said pinion, a plate coaxially connected to said gear and having radial slots opening through its lower side and periphery, a rotatable driving element having a projection to enter said slots in succession for rotating said gear step-by-step whereby to rotate said wrapper dies intermittently from a leaf applying station to a wrapping station and having an upwardly facing concentric groove, a plurality of studs on the lower side of said plate disposed in said groove while said projection is disengaged from said plate thereby to hold said gear and said wrapper dies momentarily against rotation, said means mounting said wrapper dies on said turntable providing for relative rotation of said turntable and said wrapper dies, gears journaled on said turntable and each connected coaxially to one of said wrapper dies, a second pinion journaled on said stationary support and meshing with both said gears, and a driving connection between said plate and said second pinion for rotating said second pinion step-bystep in timed relation to the intermittent rotation of said turntable, thereby to maintain each wrapper die in the same angular relation to an axial plane of said turntable during rotation of said turntable.

WILLIAM J. GILES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

